Sweets from another world June 23, 2009

Why is it that we do not have anything like this in Calgary? The closest you can get are small fruit tarts at T&T…

Crab Flakes Phyllo Pastry June 9, 2009

If you like pastries, this might be your thing. It’s similar to spankopita – except there’s no spinach. So we could call it crabopita…  You’ll need 1 pack of pollock flavored crab flakes, 1 pack of phyllo sheets (the ones they sell frozen in Superstore, Safeway or Coop), some 250 gr. Philadelphia cheese, 3-4 mushrooms, 1 grated carrot, 1 celery stick, salt, pepper, basil (or any dry spices you like with seafood), 3-4 tbsp melted butter, 1 egg (beaten).

Instructions:

1. Prepare the filling: in a bowl, mix crab flakes with the grated carrot and the mushrooms and the celery stick cut into small pieces. Add salt, pepper and the spices. Add the cheese and mix well.
2. Spread the phyllo sheets and cut them into squares (or into any shapes you want to use for the pastry).
3. Melt the butter, and use it to brush the phyllo sheets (I find that using 3 -4 of them per pastry is the best). Then spoon some of the crab mixture onto the phyllo sheets, and using your hands roll them (I prefer doing them like spring rolls, but you may choose other shapes, like triangles).
4. Brush each pastry with the egg then put on tray.
5. Heat the oven (350F) and leave them for 15 minutes or until the phyllo pastry is crunchy.

Crab Flakes Oriental Salad June 8, 2009

This salad is so easy to make and so tasty, that you’ll wanna eat it all at once! It’s also rather cheap to make, since you’ll need 1 pack of crab flakes (the ones you find in Superstore or Safeway, it’s really crab flavored pollock), 2-3 potatoes, 1 celery stick, 300 gr. olives, 1 carrot, 4-5 cherry or grape tomatoes (for decoration and as a side), mustard, dry basil, dry parsley, oil, salt, pepper.

Instructions:

1. Cut potatoes and carrot into cubes and boil.
2. When water is boiling, sink the celery stick for 2-3 minutes to tenderize. Remove and cut into pieces.
3. Drain potatoes and carrot, put in a bowl, add celery stick pieces, olives, and the crab flakes (cut into small pieces).
4. In a small bowl, put 1-2 tbsp of mustard and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Mix thoroughly, add salt, pepper, parsley and basil.  Pour over the potatoes and mix well.
5. Serve with tomatoes.

For a quick and cheap lunch, try Central Blends June 4, 2009

The place is very close to the pedestrian Kensington area (203-19St. NW) and there are plenty of free parking options around (really a plus these days in Calgary…). Central Blends is more of a coffee place offering sandwiches and wraps for breakfast and lunch. But they are cheap – and very tasty! I had a chicken peanut satay wrap and a soft drink, and my friend got a turkey sandwich (real turkey, we were told). Also, be advised that both the wrap and the sandwich came without any side. Both were delicious, and the total for both of us was $16.95. The place itself is not fancy at all – I mean, they could do some work on those old, dirty benches and tables, but if you’re there for a quick lunch then you may not be bothered by this. Especially when the food is really tasty!